About the Book

Solve the number one problem with today's young workforce—the soft skills gap
The number one challenge with today's young talent is a problem hiding in plain sight: the ever-widening soft skills gap. Today's new, young workforce has so much to offer—new technical skills, new ideas, new perspective, new energy. Yet too many of them are held back because of their weak soft skills.

Soft skills may be harder to define and measure than hard skills, but they are just as critical. People get hired because of their hard skills but get fired because of their soft skills.

Setting a good example or simply telling young workers they need to improve isn't enough, nor is scolding them or pointing out their failings in an annual review. However you can teach the missing basics to today's young talent.

Based on more than twenty years of research, Bruce Tulgan, renowned expert on the millennial workforce, offers concrete solutions to help managers teach the missing basics of professionalism, critical thinking, and followership—complete with ninety-two step-by-step lesson plans designed to be highly flexible and easy to use.

Tulgan's research and proven approach has show that the key to teaching young people the missing soft skills lies in breaking down critical soft skills into their component parts, concentrating on one small component at a time, with the help of a teaching-style manager. Almost all of the exercises can be done in less than an hour within a team meeting or an extended one-on-one. The exercises are easily modified and customized and can be used as take-home exercises for any individual or group, to guide one-on-one discussions with direct-reports and in the classroom as written exercises or group discussions.

Managers—and their young employees—will find themselves returning to their favorite exercises over and over again. One exercise at a time, managers will build up the most important soft skills of their new, young talent. These critical soft skills can make the difference between mediocre and good, between good and great, between great and one of a kind.

About the Author

BRUCE TULGAN is the founder and CEO of RainmakerThinking, Inc., a management research and training firm, as well as RainmakerThinking.training, an online training company. Bruce is an adviser to business leaders all over the world and a sought-after keynote speaker, seminar leader, and author of numerous books, including the bestselling It's Okay to Be the Boss, the classic Managing Generation X, Not Everyone Gets a Trophy, It's Okay to Manage Your Boss, and FAST Feedback.

Table of Contents:
Part One The Soft Skills Gap Prologue Meet the Newest New Young Workforce Chapter 1 The Soft Skills Gap The Soft Skills Gap: Growing Steadily from Gen X to Gen Y to Gen Z Something Much Larger Is Going on Here: The Post-Boomer Generational Shift Gen Zers Are the Ultimate Non-Conformists in an Age of Non-Comformism The Soft Skills Gap: The Missing Basics in Today’s Young Talent Face the Hard Realities of the Soft Skills Gap Chapter 2 You Can’t Hire Your Way Around the Soft Skills Gap Staffing Strategy and Hiring On-Boarding and Up-to-Speed Training Performance Management and Talent Development Ongoing Training The Human Element: What Role Are You Going to Play? Become a Teaching Style Manager Take It to the Next Level Chapter 3 Unlocking the Power of Soft Skills Drill Down: The Missing Basics Unlocking the Power of Soft Skills Unlocking the Power: The Rest of This Book Part Two How to Teach the Missing Basics to Today ’s Young Talent Chapter 4 How to Teach the Missing Basics of Professionalism to Today’s Young Talent How to Teach Self-Evaluation Self-Evaluation: Lesson Plan 1—Introduction Self-Evaluation: Lesson Plan 2—Evaluating Yourself on Ability, Skill, and Will Self-Evaluation: Lesson Plan 3—Evaluating Yourself on Productivity, Quality, and Behavior Self-Evaluation: Lesson Plan 4—Evaluating Yourself on the Key Soft Skills Competencies Self-Evaluation: Lesson Plan 5—Drill Down on Understanding the Key Soft Skills Self-Evaluation: Lesson Plan 6—Explore Your Own Successes with the Key Soft Skills How to Teach Personal Responsibility Personal Responsibility: Lesson Plan 1—Introduction Personal Responsibility: Lesson Plan 2—All the Factors That Are in Your Way Personal Responsibility: Lesson Plan 3—Considering the Most Common Factors That Get in the Way at Work Personal Responsibility: Lesson Plan 4—Response Power How to Teach Positive Attitude Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan 1—Considering Theories of How to Be Your Best at Work Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan 2—Defining “Good Attitude” Behaviors with Your Team—or Any Individual Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan 3—Considering Common Bad Attitudes Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan 4—Considering Good Attitude Behaviors Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan 5—For Individual Employees Who Need an Attitude Adjustment How to Teach Good Work Habits Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 1—Introduction Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 2—Self-Assessment Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 3—Self-Improvement Planning Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 4—Wellness Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 5—Planning a Wellness Initiative Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 6—Self-Presentation Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 7—Using a Time Log to Start Living by a Schedule Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 8—How to Make a Basic Project Plan Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 9—Taking Notes and Making Checklists Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 10—Doing a Time/Motion Study on Yourself Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 11—Spotlight on Follow-Through Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 12—Going the Extra Mile How to Teach People Skills People Skills: Lesson Plan 1—Interpersonal Communication People Skills: Lesson Plan 2—Self-Assessing Interpersonal Communication People Skills: Lesson Plan 3—Learning to Use the “People List” People Skills: Lesson Plan 4—Putting More Structure into Your Communication People Skills: Lesson Plan 5—Putting More Substance into Your Communication People Skills: Lesson Plan 6—Preparing for Meetings People Skills: Lesson Plan 7—Email Best Practices People Skills: Lesson Plan 8—Communicating Remotely Chapter 5 How to Teach the Missing Basics of Critical Thinking to Today’s Young Talent How to Teach Proactive Learning Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan 1—Proactive Learning Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan 2—Open Mind Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan 3—Suspend Judgment, Question Assumptions, and Seek to Learn Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan 4—Question Assumptions Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan 5—Research Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan 6—Study Skills—Building Knowledge Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan 7—Practice Skills—Building Skill Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan 8—Contemplate Competing Perspectives to Build Wisdom How to Teach Problem Solving Problem Solving: Lesson Plan 1—Introduction Problem Solving: Lesson Plan 2—Preventing or Avoiding Problems Before They Happen Problem Solving: Lesson Plan 3—Ready-Made Solutions to Commonly Occurring Problems Problem Solving: Lesson Plan 4—Common Denominators and Underlying Principles Problem Solving: Lesson Plan 5—Applying the After Action Review Tool Problem Solving: Lesson Plan 6—Using the After-Action Review Tool to Learn from Others How to Teach Decision Making Decision Making: Lesson Plan 1—Introduction Decision Making: Lesson Plan 2—Information Analysis: Simple Pros and Cons Decision Making: Lesson Plan 3—Cause and Effect: Positive Outcomes Decision Making: Lesson Plan 4—Cause and Effect: Negative Outcomes Decision Making: Lesson Plan 5—Applying the After-Action Review Tool Decision Making: Lesson Plan 6—Using the Decision/Action Tree Chapter 6 How to Teach the Missing Basics of Followership to Today’s Young Talent How to Teach Respect for Context Respect for Context: Lesson Plan 1—Introduction Respect for Context: Lesson Plan 2—Reading the Structure, Rules, Customs, and Leadership Respect for Context: Lesson Plan 3—Where Do You Fit? Respect for Context: Lesson Plan 4—How Can You Adapt? Respect for Context: Lesson Plan 5—Context-Limiting Factors Respect for Context: Lesson Plan 6—Complicated Relationships Respect for Context: Lesson Plan 7—Positive Contexts Respect for Context: Lesson Plan 8—Negative Contexts Respect for Context: Lesson Plan 9—Dealing with People with Bad Attitudes Respect for Context: Lesson Plan 10—Dealing with People with Great Attitudes How to Teach Good Citizenship 202 Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan 1—Introduction Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan 2—The “Respect for Others” Model Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan 3—The “Best Interests” Model Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan 4—The “Civic" Model Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan 5—The “Communitarian” Model Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan 6—The “Common Sense” Model Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan 7—The “Solid Standards” Model Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan 8—The “Personal Sacrifice” Model Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan 9—The Theodore Roosevelt Model Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan 10—Create Your Own Model How to Teach Service Service: Lesson Plan 1—Introduction Service: Lesson Plan 2—Common Myths About “Service” in the Workplace Service: Lesson Plan 3—Realities About Service in the Workplace Service: Lesson Plan 4—Myths Versus Realities in the Workplace Service: Lesson Plan 5—The “Be a Great Employee” Model of Service Service: Lesson Plan 6—The “Service” Approach to One-on-Ones Between Managers and Direct Reports Service: Lesson Plan 7—The Service Approach to Meeting Attendance and Participation Service: Lesson Plan 8—Helping Your Boss Monitor Your Performance Service: Lesson Plan 9—Putting Yourself on a Performance Improvement Plan How to Teach Teamwork Teamwork: Lesson Plan 1—Introduction Teamwork: Lesson Plan 2—Defining the Dimensions of Teamwork Teamwork: Lesson Plan 3—Your Role in Relation to the Mission Teamwork: Lesson Plan 4—Coordinating, Cooperating, and Collaborating with Others Teamwork: Lesson Plan 5—Supporting and Celebrating the Success of Others Teamwork: Lesson Plan 6—Identifying Your “Go To” People and Building Relationships with Them Teamwork: Lesson Plan 7—Becoming a “Go To” Person for Others Teamwork: Lesson Plan 8—Using Influence to Get Things Done Teamwork: Lesson Plan 9—Consider the Lessons About Teamwork from This U.S. Air Force Special Operations Team About the Author